The Chilton Saga Unwinds
by the4thlorelai
Summary: Rory is married to Jess. Lorelai and Max are married with a daughter named Diana. Now Diana's a freshman at Chilton...and Tristan DuGrey is the headmaster!
1. The first day

_Summary: futue fic- Rory became a journalist and married Jess who became an award-winning author. They livein Hartford near Emily, whohasmany health problems and is dying, though Richard died a few years before.Lorelai married Max, who still works at Chilton. They had a daughterwho they namedDiana Lorelai Medina. Diana grew up in Stars Hollow, and her boyfriend is Daniel Kim, Lane's adopted son. Now Diana is a freshman at Chilton and Tristan DuGrey is the headmaster! _

_Disclaimer: Everything you recognize from Gilmore Girls is Amy Sherman-Palladino's, not mine. I don't own anything else, except these ideas, of course, and Diana Lorelai Medina. _

Lorelai sat at the kitchen table, eyes glued to her watch. Diana couldn't be late today. Lorelai didn't want running late on the first day of Chilton to be a family tradition.

Finally, Diana rushed downstairs wearing her Chilton uniform and matching Chilton backpack.

"Come on!" she shouted to Lorelai.

"Wait, wait. I'm not going, remember? Dad will take you. I have a meeting at the inn in…shoot! Twenty minutes!"

Lorelai ran upstairs as quickly as she could to make sure Max was ready to go. So when she opened her bedroom door to find him happily snoring, she panicked.

"Max! Max! Get up! Get up! GET UP!"

Max Medina slowly opened his eyes. He'd been having an incredibly weird dream about a talking firefly, so he was only half awake now.

"What happened? Is something wrong?"

"MAX!"

"What? What?"

"The summer's over, Honey. Welcome to reality, and right now reality is set on the first day back to school for both of you?"

"Both of us?"

"You and Diana!"

"Oh my God! I forgot!"

"No, no it's ok, she can take the bus, but you're going to be late for work!"

By this time Max had fallen back asleep.

"MAX!"

"Right, right. Okay, I'm here...what?"

Lorelai ran out of the room and down the stairs, which was particularly difficult on this so far coffee-less morning.

"Diana! Go, go. Get the bus."

"What? What bus?"

"The one to Hartford! GO! You're going to be late! Ah, and so am I!"

"What about Dad?"

"He'll catch up, just go!"

Diana ran to catch the bus. Luckily, it was just pulling up when she got to the stop. Any other day of school, she would've been late, but it was only the first day, and classes started two hours later. Unlike her sister, Rory, Diana was starting Chilton during Freshman year. After her mother's rant about how all other families have some kind of weird traditions, it was decided that the Gilmore-Medina tradition would be that everyone in the family goes to Chilton for high school. To add some dramatic effect, Lorelai made it that only girls would go to Chilton. It sounds more…well, traditional.

When Diana entered the building, she was shocked at the size of it. Only freshman roamed the halls looking for their orientation classrooms. Diana checked her schedule for the first week of school. 9:45: Freshman orientation in room 206. Much to her surprise, she found room 206 very easily. She walked into the large classroom with marble floors and beautifully carved wooden walls. Not knowing what else to do, Diana sat down to begin reading her brother-in-law's latest book: Tales of Minnesota's Underworld by Jess Mariano.

Only ten minutes later, a tall man who looked like he was in his mid-thirties, with blondish brown hair stepped into the room. Max, his tie loosened, and his hair a mess so that you could tell he rushed to get there, walked in after the other man, and stood behind the podium in the front of the room. He looked worried and sidetracked, but he smiled at Diana, cleared his throat, and sounding very professional, something completely new to Diana, addressed the Chilton freshmen.

"Good morning, students. My name is Mr. Medina. The majority of you will have me for English and Literature this coming school year. I'd like to introduce the person who will guide you through not only the rest of today's orientation, but will also guide you through all of your years here at Chilton: Headmaster DuGrey."

Max stepped back from the podium and the other man, who was apparently the Chilton headmaster, took his place. As Headmaster DuGrey began explaining the school rules, the freshman curriculum, and the importance of extracurricular activities, Diana pondered her dad's announcement.

"Headmaster DuGrey", he had said.

_'DuGrey, DuGrey. I KNOW I've heard that somewhere. I KNOW it! And the headmaster, he looks…so familiar.' _

"Well, yes, you can wear sneakers with your uniform. I'd recommend it in fact", said Headmaster DuGrey, answering someone's question.

Diana looked as her father, Mr. Medina, as he'd asked her to call him in school. He was very uncomfortable, almost squirming where he stood behind the headmaster. He felt Diana's stare, and looked up at her. He nodded, and in return received a blank look from his daughter.

_'Well, Dad knows something. And I know that I know something, too, but what?'_

The headmaster rambled on. "Anyway, what I'm saying is, we have high standards. You were accepted here, so you meet them. If for some reason you don't meet them in the future, you will be put on academic probation."

_'That hair, that face, I know it! It's someone from a picture, a picture Rory showed me. I know, I KNOW!' _

Max was turning green, now. Then Diana knew.

_'Tristan! It's Tristan DuGrey! Tristan DuGrey that Rory was telling me about before I started at Chilton. He called her Mary, like Virgin Mary, and she rejected him, and…and Oh my God! Tristan DuGrey from the pictures, Rory's pictures. Rory's secret pictures. Those pictures she was hiding from Jess. Oh my God, it's Tristan DuGrey! Headmaster Tristan DuGrey.' _


	2. Another DuGrey

_Disclaimer: I still don't own any Gilmore Girls characters. In this chapter, I do own Hannah Mary DuGrey, and of course the plot and ideas, as always. _

Headmaster DuGrey finished the orientation, which seemed to last forever. Diana couldn't wait to talk to her dad. When homeroom assignments and schedules for the rest of the day were handed out and the freshmen were dismissed from the classroom for an hour socializing period before classes started, Diana couldn't get out of her seat faster.

"Dad! Please tell me I'm imagining things, but-"

Max interrupted her mid sentence. "It's Mr. Medina, remember?"

"Oh right, um. Mr. Medina, isn't the headmaster--"

"Tristan DuGrey", Max finished. "He's an old student of mine. It's going to be interesting having an old student as a boss."

"Dad…Mr. Medina!"

"Diana, not now. We can discuss…well you know, at home, with your mother, maybe with your sister."

Diana sighed. No use attempting to change his mind. It never works.

Looking down at her schedule, Diana was surprised to find that her first class was English/Lit.

_'Hmm, how convenient',_ she thought.

She spent the socializing period reading. Making friends wasn't high on Diana's priority list. She already had a boyfriend and a great best friend in Stars Hollow. The bell rang soon after Diana had finished chapter eight, the one she had helped to write. The Chilton bell was loud, very loud. After recovering from falling out of her chair in surprise at the bell, Diana picked up her backpack, and ran off to begin the quest for her locker.

"205, 206, 207, 209…hey why isn't there a 208? 210, 211, finally!"

Diana was shocked when her locker opened on the first try. TV shows always make it seem like opening a locker is the toughest part of high school. She took the textbooks she'd ordered in June out of her backpack and put them in her locker, which was much bigger than Rory had told her it would be. She was done with her locker and decided to rush to Literature. Maybe she could talk to "Mr. Medina" about the headmaster if she was early. Walking fast, but not running because the floors were marble and looked slippery, she had on a determined "don't bother me, I'm on a mission" face, that apparently wasn't visible to everyone. Suddenly, a blonde-haired girl, about medium-height, wearing gorgeous sunglasses cut her off.

"Excuse me. I'm going to be late", Diana said, still walking.

Walking next to Diana, the girl didn't seem to notice her annoyed tone. "You're a freshman."

"And…?"

"No one cares when freshmen are late."

"I do", Diana argued.

"I didn't ask you."

"Who are you?"

"Hannah Mary DuGrey."

"Why, that's fascinating! Please move." Diana stopped walking suddenly. "Wait. You said DuGrey?"

"That's right."

"Oh. Okay, I really do have to go."

Hannah stopped her. "Wait."

"No!" Diana shouted, louder than she meant. Aside from being thoroughly annoyed, Diana was shocked. Shocked, that there was another DuGrey. She had to be the headmaster's daughter. DuGrey isn't that common of a name, plus Hannah looked a lot like the headmaster. And what's with her middle name, Mary? Is that some kind of joke?

_'Just wait until Rory finds out about this!' _

Diana walked faster and faster, eventually walking past her father…er, Mr. Medina's classroom. She'd have to get used to saying that. She calmed down and figured out she'd passed the room. Walking back, she wondered, _'If this is what happens at Chilton in the first hour and a half of the first day, what could happen in four years?' _

Walking into the classroom, Diana was three seconds away from being late, even though, according to Hannah, it wouldn't have mattered if she had been. Diana had learned not to trust people like Hannah, though.

She took a seat in the second to last row of desks, where she wouldn't be too noticeable to her father.

Max handed out guides and outlines of the curriculum for his class. He looked so melancholy and ridiculously unenthusiastic compared to the usual chipper dad Diana knew so well.

Diana looked up from her desk when she heard her father's voice. He was standing in the middle of the room talking in a low voice to Headmaster DuGrey. She couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but when the headmaster went to stand in the back of the classroom, she guessed he'd asked to observe the class. Diana found this very weird, and from the looks on the faces of her classmates, she wasn't the only one. The principal in elementary school always used to observe classes, but this was high school. This was Chilton. She shrugged it off, and went back to looking over her outline. A few minutes later, she felt eyes on her back. Someone was staring at her. Not wanting to embarrass herself by looking back so obviously, Diana knocked a pencil off of her desk and looked back when she went to pick it up just in time to see the headmaster looking at her. No, not looking, staring. When he saw Diana looking, he glanced away to break the stare. Diana tried to ignore it and pretend it didn't happen, but only a minute later, he was staring again.

_'Maybe he's a child molester, or a kidnapper? Nah, he's the headmaster of a prestigious high school in Hartford, Connecticut. But, something's weird. Something's different.' _

_AN: I don't know if people like the story so please review with feedback! _


	3. Getting Rory back

_A/N: Thanks for the supportive reviews. I'm glad people like the story, so I'll continue, and try to update as much as possible. _

_Disclaimer:_ _I still don't own anything except, in this chapter, Diana and the plot and ideas. _

Tristan, or "Headmaster DuGrey", remembered his junior year at Chilton. He'd only stayed for a little while before going to Military school, but now he remembered something he had paid little attention to when he first heard it. There were rumors going around that Rory's mother and Mr. Medina were getting married. Now, as he stared at Diana, he couldn't help noticing the resemblance between her and Rory, the girl he'd always loved in high school. She was so innocent, like a lamb, not usually Tristan's type, but with Rory, it was different. The feeling he got when he was around her, while being unforgettable, was also masked by his constant smirking and teasing, something he'd regret forever.

Diana and Rory had the same beautiful blue eyes, the same beautiful face, and the same perfect smiles. The only difference was their hair. Rory's was a light shade of brown, while Diana's was darker, like Max, who Tristan now assumed was her father. He'd have to find out more about this mystery girl, though. If she was related to Rory, there was no way he'd let this opportunity go by. He'd only taken this job in the first place for some extra cash when he found out, horrified of course, that Charleston who'd died a decade earlier, was a distant relative.

_'Maybe', _he thought, _'I can get something out of this ridiculous job.' _

Max rambled on about novels and literature. Tristan didn't hear what he was saying. He was there to see Diana, not Max. When the bell finally rang, Tristan, hoping not to look too suspicious, quickly walked up to Max's desk.

"That was a great class, Medina."

"Oh, um…thank you, Tris--I mean…headmaster.

Tristan smiled and half running, went to catch up with Diana. He finally spotted her, about to walk into her Latin class.

"Excuse me".

Diana was stunned. "Hello, sir."

"Good afternoon. I'm just trying to get to know everyone, and I realized I don't know your name yet."

_'Oh, now this is creepy. He's been in orientation, and Lit which are the only classes I've had yet, and He hasn't asked anyone else their name!' _she thought to herself.

But what she said was, "Diana Medina, sir."

"So you're--"

"Mr. Medina's daughter, yes", Diana interrupted.

"Alright. I was just checking."

_'He either cares a lot about me being related to a teacher or he knows Rory's my sister, and that's not good. Oh, great! More stuff to tell Rory.' _

Tristan awkwardly walked away, and Diana entered a nearby classroom, still thinking about the headmaster, the headmaster's daughter, and how weird the day had been so far.

The rest of the day went fine, without any further weird occurrences. Diana was liking Chilton for the most part. Her classes seemed interesting, and having her dad around school wasn't even as weird as she'd expected. Even so, by the time the final bell rang, Diana eagerly ran to meet Max in his classroom.

"Are you driving this time, or should I take the bus again?" Diana asked.

"Why don't you take the bus, just for today. I promise it won't be a regular thing. And…um, let your mother know about Headmaster DuGrey."

"What about him Dad?", asked Diana, attempting to get him to say something about it. She didn't want to feel like the only one who thought it was weird.

"Diana!" Max shouted, obviously annoyed.

"Right, right. I'm going. See you at home."

"Yeah, see you there." Max said.

Diana left in a hurry, hoping to catch the next bus so she wouldn't have to wait too long.

When the bus stopped in Stars Hollow and Diana got off, she ran. She ran across the street, not stopping to look if cars were coming. She ran past houses and stores, not even slowing down to see if she was going in the right direction. Finally, she got to her house, and not seeing Lorelai's Jeep under the tree, she ran to the inn, only faster this time.

"Michel, where's Mom?"

"Wasn't my turn to watch her."

"You don't have the vaguest idea where she might be?" Diana pleaded.

"No."

"Michel!"

"No."

Lorelai emerged from the kitchen suddenly. Michel smirked, and Diana ran to her.

"Mom! Hey!"

"Hey, Babe, where's Max?"

"I took the bus, Mom--"

"How was the first day?"

"Mom, Tristan is the headmaster!"

"Tristan? Tristan who?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"Tristan DuGrey. The guy Rory was talking about, remember?"

"Tristan DuGrey is the headmaster of Chilton? Are you serious?"

"Of course! And he was staring at me. Not just looking, staring. Stalking staring. Scary staring!" Diana exclaimed, relieved to finally tell someone."

"Oh my God! Why? And, wait. How the heck did he of all people get that job?"

"I don't know! Who cares? This is weird, and it's freaking me out!" Diana shouted!

"You know who it's going to freak out more, don't you?"

"Rory." Diana said, lowering her voice. "When should we tell her?"

"I'm thinking Friday", said Lorelai.

"But Mom…Jess."

"Well, we'll get her away from Jess, somehow. She may not care, but it'll be weird. I know someone who will definitely care, though."

"Jess."

"We need a plan" said Lorelai.


	4. What happened to the plan?

A/N: _I can't say whether this is going to end up a Trory or not. It's one of those things where I can't say one thing, because it spoils the whole thing. I can, however, tell you that I think you'll be very surprised. _

_Disclaimer: I still don't own anything associated with Gilmore Girls. In this chapter, I own only Diana._

* * *

"What do you mean? What kind of plan? Like some kind of mission where everyone's undercover or something?" Diana asked. 

"No, no. A plan to get Rory alone at dinner on Friday. You want to tell her about Tristan, do you not? She'll find out eventually", said Lorelai.

"No she won't! We don't even have to tell her. Mom, I don't want her to get upset, so let's just not tell her."

"We have to tell her."

"Why?" Diana asked, almost shouting.

"Why not?" replied Lorelai. Diana hesitated. "See? There's no point in keeping it from her. Hon, I know you have the best intentions, but Rory has to know. You've never met Tristan. Well, I guess you have, but, ah! So not the point! I never exactly met him, but from what Rory told me years ago, I can come to the conclusion that when Tristan was offered this job for some absolutely crazy God knows what kind of reason, he didn't take it for the good of the school, Diana! And him staring at you! That would be disgusting and more than likely illegal if he wasn't Tristan DuGrey! Look at this as like, a mystery novel, and lay out all the facts. Dig deep and you'll uncover a plot. There's something there, and Rory needs to know about, so maybe, she can fix it!"

"I'm in", agreed Diana, smiling.

"Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe some kind of pathway might help to ensure that I don't relive the tragic muddy shoe incident that should've been obvious to me way before I even thought about attempting to even get inside my house by means other than some form of drawbridge?" said an annoyed-sounding voice that came from the front door.

"Yes", joked Lorelai, followed by a hello kiss from her husband.

"So have you heard about--?"

"Yep."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Max sighed and walked upstairs. Lorelai followed.

"Permission to stay out of it?" said Max, beginning to loosen his tie.

"Please."

"Well, hey. Don't we have dinner with Rory and Jess tonight?"

"Of course", Lorelai replied.

"So bring it up then."

"Ah! Taken care of. I've got a plan!" Lorelai said sounding sure of herself.

"Uh huh, and would you mind filling me in on the details?"

"Sorry, confidential", said Lorelai.

"Confidential? What's confidential?"

"Mmm. Too many comebacks."

"You don't have a plan do you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know…" said Lorelai, attempting a sexy voice.

"Lorelai!"

"Right, right, sorry. We'll work out something."

Just a few hours later Max had changed, finished his lesson plan for the next three months, and was waiting patiently for Diana and Lorelai. Well, more impatiently, but he was working on the patience thing. Finally, he caved.

"Let's go! I've been sitting here waiting for an hour and ten minutes!"

"Max, calm down!" Lorelai yelled from upstairs, where she was putting in the cute little flowery earrings Diana had given her for her birthday last year.

Diana walked into the living room. "Hey, can you fasten my necklace back there?" she asked Max, turning around.

By this point, Max had lost all hope of getting to Hartford on time. He didn't even put up a fight when Lorelai insisted that everyone go to the bathroom before they left.

_'She's just stalling'_, he thought.

They took Max's car, but Lorelai refused to leave the house until Max handed over his keys. She had to make sure they drove slow and got there incredibly late. It wasn't part of the plan, but it was always fun to watch Max turn reddish orange trying to keep his anger inside. On the way to Hartford, everyone silently wondered what drama the night would hold. Desperate to break the silence, Diana changed the subject. Well, she couldn't really change it since no one was talking, but she could at least try to get her parents' minds off of Tristan and Rory.

"Why do we dress up to go to these things anyway?" she asked.

"Because, Rory's very close to Grandma", Lorelai answered.

"So?"

"So now that Grandma's too sick for Friday night dinners, Rory wanted to continue them in her honor, and since we always dressed up for those, Rory wants us to dress up for these."

"Oh."

Silence filled the car for the rest of the drive to Hartford. When the car finally stopped, parked in front of Rory's house ten minutes from Emily's mansion complete with a wraparound porch that reminded Rory of home, Diana and Lorelai exchanged worried glances, and walked up to the front door with the tense-looking Max. The three of them stood there for a few moments before Max rung the bell, after which he received angry looks from Diana and Lorelai, who were busy silently preparing themselves for what was to come.

Rory opened the door and smiled. Hey guys, come in. Lorelai and Max walked inside, but Diana only stood there still as a statue.

"Come on, Diana", said Rory.

"Tristan's Chilton's new headmaster!" Diana blurted out.

Lorelai who was in the next room had heard Diana and came rushing out.

"What?" Lorelai said, wondering what had happened to the imaginary plan.

"What?" Rory asked, in shock.

Lorelai repeated what Diana had said. "It's true, babe. You remember Tristan DuGrey?"

Rory's eyes were bulging out of her head now. "Yes…?"

"He's the headmaster at Chilton now", Lorelai finished.

"Who's the headmaster at Chilton?" Rory asked, eyes still bulging, head still spinning, mind still numbing.

"TRISTAN!" Diana shouted, annoyed.

Lorelai whispered to Diana, "Okay, Hon, probably not a great idea to yell at her right now."

"But…no guys, you're wrong, he's too young. They wouldn't give him that position."

"Why don't we all sit down and talk about this", suggested Lorelai.

But Rory continued. "And he wouldn't come back to Connecticut, to Chilton! He wouldn't!"

"He did", said Lorelai calmly.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Mom!"

"Rory! I don't know why he's back. I don't know how he got the job. I don't know, okay? I don't know. But we'll find out."

"No, no. Just…just leave it alone. I won't bother him and he won't bother me. For all he knows, I could be living in Sri Lanka!" Rory shouted.

Now Diana spoke. "Well, there's an interesting story behind that."

Lorelai and Diana explained how Tristan had been staring at Diana, and how he seemed to be interested in her. Rory seemed confused and upset, but she was able to pull herself together before Jess came in.

"Rory! Where's my--" He walked into the living room where everyone was sitting. "Oh, hey. Rory, have you seem my orange pen with the weird white out tube thing?"

"Oh yeah, I think I saw it near the computer" Rory said, getting up to help Jess look for his pen.

"So", Lorelai said. "That went well."

The next morning Rory woke up to the alarm she'd set an hour earlier than usual. Jess rolled over in bed and opened his eyes slightly to see her brushing her hair.

"Hey, where are you going? It's only…God! It's only 6:45! You don't go to work until 7 something!" he said.

Rory replied, "Well, yeah, but I have to get a head start on my Connecticut court scandal piece."

Jess rolled his eyes and closed them again, drifting back to sleep.

Rory parked her car in the Chilton parking lot, walked into the school, remembering right where the headmaster's office was, and ignoring the secretary, opened the double doors to find Tristan DuGrey at his desk. He looked up.

"Rory!"

She smiled, continued walking to his desk, jumped on top, and kissed him.

* * *

_A/N: Please review. I want to know what everyone thinks so far. I'll update soon. _


	5. Mentor

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I'm happy most people like the story. Just one favor…I'm not going to be like those jerks who go crazy when someone doesn't like their story, but I'm just asking you to be polite. People (meaning me, of course) do get sensitive about their writing. Anyway, I still can't say anything about whether it's Trory or Literati. Maybe in the next chapter. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. In this chapter, I own Diana, Hannah, and plots, idea, ect. _

Tristan backed away.

"Rory, what?" he asked nervously. "What are you doing here? What are you doing?"

"I--I don't…I don't know", Rory said softly.

She ran out of the office, out of the school, leaving Tristan's mouth open and mind spinning.

_'Jess!' Rory thought, panicking. _

Back in Stars Hollow, Diana had about an hour until her first class.

"Luke!"

"Yeah?" Luke responded.

"Where are the pancakes I asked for ten minutes ago?"

"Shut up."

"Geez. The service in this place--" teased Diana.

"Shut up."

The annoying little bell above the diner's door that must've been there for decades gave a small ring, signifying someone had entered. Diana looked up to see her parents walking in.

"Hey!" yelled Diana, over Babette's shrieking across the diner.

"Hey. I thought you were still in your room doing your hair", said Max.

"You know I'm not like that. You must've mistaken me for Mom", Diana joked.

"I'm hurt that you would say something like that", Lorelai said.

"Well it's true" Max chimed in.

Lorelai laughed. Okay…fine. I give up. You win.

"Good, good. Say it three times", Diana said, laughing.

"Oh, Diana", Max said. "You want to take the bus again or come with me?"

"Hmm…"

"Hey!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Of course I want to come with you."

"Thank you for sparing my feelings", said Max, smiling.

Luke walked over to their table, attempting to balance two huge plates, one of pancakes, one of waffles, and three cups-two filled with coffee, one with tea.

"Need some help?" Max offered.

Luke smiled. "Yeah, thanks."

Max got up to help Luke, when Lorelai pulled his arm to stop him.

"No, don't help him. You can't tell me this isn't fun to watch!"

Diana laughed. Max sighed, and continued helping Luke to get the plates and cups on the table. Luke walked back to the counter, with a glare of mock anger. Max looked at his watch.

"Great", he said.

"What?" asked Lorelai.

"We were supposed to leave 5 minutes ago. Okay, so let's go Diana."

They said goodbye to Lorelai, hopped into Max's car, and drove to Chilton. They arrived in only twenty minutes, much faster than the bus. Diana got out and said goodbye to Max.

"See you first period. God, that's fun to say."

They smiled, and walked inside. Diana, hoping to have the luck she had yesterday, went straight to her locker, where she was once again stopped by Hannah DuGrey.

"Diana, stop."

"Why?"

"Because I have to talk to you."

"About what? I don't even know you! You don't even know me! So how do you know my name?" asked Diana.

"I tried to talk to you yesterday, remember?"

"Yes, but I didn't tell you my name."

"Right, I know. I've been assigned to you."

"Assigned to me?"

"As a mentor, you know."

"No."

"No what?"

"No, I don't know what you're talking about."

Hannah sighed. "It's been a Chilton tradition since the year before I came here. Every junior hosts one freshman."

"What do you mean by host?" Diana asked, curious and confused.

"Umm, like…help you with stuff. Introduce you to people, tell you where the bathrooms are, and assist you kind of."

"So of all the people you could've been assigned to, you got me?" asked Diana.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Just, well, who assigns these mentors?"

"Oh, um, the headmaster."

"Oh", Diana whispered, more to herself than anyone. Now that was suspicious. "Okay, so now what?"

"Well, tell me about yourself!" suggested Hannah, suddenly very perky and enthusiastic.

"Well, okay. What about me do you want to know?"

"Oh, you know, the basic stuff. Where do you live, do you have any pets, any siblings maybe?"

The last part Hannah said a bit quieter than everything else.

"Oh um, okay. I live in Stars Hollow."

At this, Hannah perked up, seeming extraordinarily interested.

Diana continued, "I don't have any pets, and I don't want any. My dad's allergic to dogs, so…"

"You're dad is Mr. Medina, right?" Hannah interrupted.

"Yeah."

Hannah smiled. "Okay, so continue."

"Right, okay. I have one sister. Well, a half sister, and she's a lot older than me."

"Really? What's her name?"

"Rory."

_'WHY did you tell her that, Diana? WHY?'_, Diana asked herself, knowing she'd regret what just came out of her mouth.

"Cool", said Hannah casually, but the way she smiled, and the look in her eyes told Diana that Hannah was thinking a lot more than 'cool' in her mind.

"I have to get to class. What do you have first?" asked Hannah.

"Oh, English Lit."

"So I guess you don't need to know where that is, right?" Diana shook her head. "Okay, I have Latin, so I'm this way", Hannah told her, waving goodbye and walking off in the opposite direction.

Diana remembered her Latin class yesterday where Mrs. Collins had told the class they would have Latin with her in the same classroom all four years at Chilton. Mrs. Collins's classroom was near Max's, so why was Hannah walking the other way? Since the bell wouldn't ring for another two minutes, and Diana was pumped with curiosity, she followed Hannah, inconspicuously, to Headmaster DuGrey's office. She peered in to see Hannah talking to her father.

"Diana, yes. And she lives in Stars Hollow, and Dad!" Diana heard Hannah exclaim.

"Yeah?" Tristan asked.

"Her half-sister's Rory!"

Tristan smiled. Diana gasped.

That night, Lorelai, Max, and Diana sat on the old, ugly, yet comfortable couch, watching The Way We Were, when there was a knock at the door.

"It's called a doorbell!" Lorelai yelled from the living room.

The knocking continued. Eventually Max paused the movie and Lorelai went to answer the door for whoever might have some kind of disease that prevented them from ringing the doorbell that was right in front of the door! That's why it's called a doorbell!

Opening the door, she wondered who it was, anyway. Standing on Lorelai's new cute kitty doormat, was Tristan DuGrey.

Lorelai didn't recognize him, though.

"Hi", she said.

"Hi."

"Who are you?"

"Um, Tristan DuGrey, ma'am"

"Oh", she said nervously.

"Are you here to see Max, or Diana maybe?"

"No. I was actually wondering if Rory was here."

"Rory lives in Hartford, Tristan, and why do you ask?"

"Nevermind", he said quietly, beginning to walk away.

"No, Tristan, what?"

"I just--wanted to see her."

"She's married."

Tristan's jaw dropped. "What?"


	6. In love

_A/N: Sorry to say that this has become one of those stories, where either Trory or Literati fans will be disappointed. You'll find out which at the end of this chapter. Also, at the end of this chapter, the story may seem like it's over, but I plan to continue it for a long time. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls (ha, I wish), but in this chapter I own, as always the plots and ideas, as well as Diana and Daniel. _

"She's married", Lorelai repeated.

"But--"

"No. Tristan, she's married. I know you had a thing for her once, but that was a very long time ago, and now, let me say again for the third time, she is married. Let it go, Hon."

"Let what go?" asked Tristan thoroughly confused.

"You know."

"No. I really don't! She kissed me, not the other way around, and I'm the one confused."

"What?" Lorelai asked, sure she heard him wrong.

"What, what?"

"What did you just say?" asked Lorelai, annoyed.

"She kissed me, ma'am."

"Rory wouldn't do that", Lorelai said, defending her daughter and hoping this was some kind of scheme to win Rory's heart.

"Hey, that's what I thought. Why do you think I'm so shocked?"

"Tristan, go home."

"Hey, I'm leaving. I was only looking for Rory."

"Well stop looking, because like I said, geez! This is the fourth time! She's happily married!" Lorelai said, her tone increasing with every word.

"I don't know about happily. I'd check that out before you make such an assumption." Tristan said, still in shock, though it didn't show as much now. With that, he was gone.

Lorelai walked back into the living room to join Max and Diana on the couch again.

"Who was that?" Diana asked.

"Who?" Lorelai asked, a look of mock confusion on her face, at an attempt to dodge any questions. Rory deserved to keep this private, if it was true, that is.

"At the door, Mom."

"Oh, at the door."

"Yes…"

"Pete, from the nursery. He was just wondering what time we wanted him over tomorrow for the lawn", Lorelai lied.

"Oh."

The three of then watched the rest of the movie and ate their cookie dough and peanut butter covered Oreos (Lorelai's idea, of course), in silence, something horribly new to them. What made it worse was their lack of concentration for the movie due to so much drama on their minds. When the credits finally rolled across the screen, Diana and Lorelai sighed with relief.

"Can I go meet Daniel?" Diana asked.

"It's late", Max responded.

"I have a lot of stuff on my mind. Can I just go?"

"Yes, go, fine, sure", said Lorelai in a tone she'd rarely used around Max.

"Are you okay?" Max asked, as the door slammed behind Diana.

"Fine. I'm fine."

Max raised his eyebrows, and sighed. "Okay."

Meanwhile, Diana was walking toward the gazebo that marked the center of Stars Hollow. She'd paged Daniel to meet her there.

Daniel Kim was actually Irish. When the residents of Stars Hollow first saw a tiny four year old boy with a completely red head welcomed into Lane Kim's house, gossip was everywhere. The rumors drove Lane so crazy, that she boldly took the floor one week at a town meeting without Taylor's permission, to announce that no, Mrs. Kim hadn't dyed Lane's naturally red hair black when she was two.  
Once Zach cheated on her, they'd divorced, and she refused to put herself out there, afraid to get hurt again, and she was lonely, so she'd gone and adopted poor Daniel. The look on Taylor's face was priceless, and the rumors were gone completely by the next morning.

Now Diana and Daniel had been going out for about six months. They were in love, and as Rory put it, Daniel was her Dean. That remark was the cause of a huge fight between Rory and Jess, but it was all in the past.

When Diana got to the gazebo, Daniel was already standing there waiting. They smiled, and kissed.

"Hey", he said.

"Hi", she responded.

"How'd you get out so late?"

"Guilt trip."

"Ah."

They kissed again, and eventually winded up making out in the middle of the gazebo. They were in love.

At home, Lorelai was frantically trying to call Rory. Of course, with her luck, the line was busy. Finally, at around 11:00, she got through.

"Mom?" Rory said, answering the phone.

"Caller ID."

"Yeah", said Rory. "What's up? Why are you calling so late?"

"Oh, you know, just to catch up."

"At 11 PM on a weeknight?"

"Sure!"

"Mom--"

"No, Rory, I'll talk", Lorelai said sternly.

"Geez, mood swing."

"Rory, did you kiss him?"

Rory sat straight up in bed now. "Who?"

"Tristan. Tristan DuGrey, did you kiss him?"

"How do you know?"

"He came here looking for you."

"That idiot!"

"Him? Rory, you kissed another man! You cheated on Jess!"

"Mom!"

"Rory!"

"It was just a kiss, anyway. A really bad kiss, I'll add."

"Why, Rory?"

"I don't know!"

"Yes you do!"

"I hadn't seen him since that stupid skit thing in junior year. I needed to know if maybe he liked me."

"So you kissed him?"

"Yes! Okay, I know it was stupid. I know, and it was meaningless, completely meaningless. I love Jess, Mom, okay?"

"Fine."

"Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight, Honey."

Lorelai hung up the phone and sighed. She was disappointed, yes. But she trusted Rory.

_'She's a good kid. She wouldn't lie"_, Lorelai thought.

In Hartford, Rory hung up the phone. She lay there in bed staring at the ceiling, and wondering if maybe the kiss meant something more. Had she lied to her mother?

Rory thought to herself, _"No, no. Jess is the guy for me. He's smart and witty, and wonderful, and we're married, and I love him, and Tristan's in my past. God! We never even went out. So that's it. The kiss meant nothing. I know it. The kiss meant nothing"_

Jess entered the bedroom, suddenly. Rory smiled.

"Hey."

"Hey."

He sat on the edge of the bed. Rory moved closer to him. Kissing passionately, they knew they were both happier than they'd ever been when they were with each other. They were in love, and nothing would change it.

_A/N: Right, so sorry to all you Trory fans. Rory's with Jess for good, but still expect plenty of drama between Rory and Tristan that includes Diana in future chapters. The next chapter will focus on Diana for the most part. _


	7. Basketball

_A/N: This isn't my best work, writing wise, but you'll see a lot more of Diana's personality in this chapter, and there are some big twists in the story here. So bottom line: it's my writing that stinks in this chapter; the storyline's actually getting pretty interesting. _

_Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Gilmore Girls, but I do own Josh, Diana, Daniel, and Hannah. _

It had been over a week since Diana's first day at Chilton, and things were going great. Everything had turned around suddenly. Tristan wasn't staring at Diana anymore. In fact, she hadn't seen him around school since the second day!

After her American history class, Diana ran outside. She'd asked Daniel to meet her at Chilton, so they could go straight to Lane's concert in Hartford-just a small gig, but it meant a lot to Lane, and Rory was going with Jess. Diana hadn't seen Rory since last Friday, and that wasn't under the best circumstances.

Diana looked around outside in the parking lot and near the Chilton courtyard. Finally, she spotted Daniel. He waved and she smiled. She ran to him, jumping into his arms. They kissed, caring little of who saw them. At that time, Diana didn't know that she should've cared.

Hannah walked out of the building just in time to see them kiss. She didn't really care, but still, she stuck it at the back of her mind, and moved on.

"Shall we?" said Daniel, still smiling.

"We shall", Diana replied.

They jumped into Lane's convertible that Daniel was borrowing, and drove for about five minutes, pulling into a tiny lot situated in front of a building the size of two, maybe three Chilton classrooms.

"This is a tiny coffee shop! They're going to have a rock band play here?" Diana exclaimed.

"I guess. Wait, check the back seat. The address is written on some paper back there", said Daniel.

Diana reached for the paper in the back of the car. Her backpack fell from her lap to the space in front of the seat. Books and random pieces of paper flew out, but Diana didn't notice. Daniel, nosy as he was, grabbed one of the pieces of paper.

"Sixth annual Chilton senior class basketball game", he read out loud, catching Diana's attention. She turned to face him.

"What's that?"

"It fell out of your backpack."

"All students and their families and friends welcome. Bring your school spirit, blah, blah, blah. Sunday, September 4th", Daniel continued, a look of mild interest spreading across his face.

"It's just a way for the school to make money. It's stupid", said Diana.

"No it's not. We should go."

"Daniel--"

"Diana, you're going to be going to that school for the next four years. You have to make some friends."

"No I don't."

"So you want to walk around the school and hear people whispering, 'There goes Mr. Medina's daughter. She's such a suck up."

"Well, no."

"Then you have to make friends! And that starts here."

"At a basketball game?"

"At the Chilton basketball game", Daniel responded matter-of-factly, putting his arm around Diana. She smiled.

"Yeah. Okay. You're going with me right?"

"Right."

"Okay."

"Good, good. So now that we have that squared away, how's that address coming?"

"Got it! Wow, this is the place."

"Quaint."

"Charming."

"Isn't it?"

They got out of the car and walked inside. Lane spotted them immediately. She was there with the band, Rory, and Jess. Rory saw Diana and put her head down. Lane waved to them, and ran over.

"Hey!"

"Hi Mom", Daniel said.

"So…we're almost ready, okay? I saved you some seats over there" said Lane, pointing in the direction of Jess and Rory.

"Thanks, Lane" said Diana.

She smiled and ran back to the tiny stage to help Brian finish setting up.

"How can they be almost ready?" Diana asked. "There's hardly anyone here!

"Probably the maximum amount of people that will fit in here", Daniel replied with a smile, as they walked towards Rory and Jess.

"Rory!" Diana exclaimed. "You haven't called since last week. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing, really", she replied. She wasn't sure if Lorelai had told Diana about the kiss, so this was very awkward.

"Diana! Hey!" said Jess, walking up them out of nowhere.

"Hey."

"Hi Daniel."

"Hi."

"Lane said there were seats around here", said Diana.

"Right, right. Over there", Jess said, pointing in back of him, where there were three empty chairs…two for Daniel and Diana and one for Diana's backpack.

Lane's band rocked. There were some complications, as there are at all concerts. Brian got nervous and spat into the microphone causing a technical malfunction, so they started screaming instead of singing, but it was okay, because no one could tell the difference.

After the concert, Diana went to find Rory. She'd been acting weird and Diana was a little bit worried about her, but she and Jess had already left by the time the concert was over. Disappointed, all she could do was leave.

On Thursday night, Rory called to cancel Friday night dinner, claiming she'd caught some kind of virus from a guy at work. A funny anecdote went along with that story, and while Lorelai was laughing, Diana was frowning. She'd had Rory on her mind since the concert.

"Mom! She's not sick! You know that!"

"Of course she is. She said she's sick, so she's sick, Diana!"

"She's lying!"

"Rory doesn't lie."

"Never too late to start."

"Diana STOP! She doesn't want us coming over. Whether she's sick or not…that's really none of our business."

"She's your daughter."

"So?"

"And my sister!"

"So?"

"So that's our business!"

"No it's not!"

"Fine!"

Diana wasn't one for slamming doors, but in her mind, this occasion called for it. Since when was Rory none of her business?

Sunday seemed so far away, but in time, it was only just around the corner. The day of the basketball game, everyone was excited, especially Max, Jess, and Rory, who were actually going to watch the basketball. Lorelai and Max had participated in a healthy, or possibly unhealthy, debate Saturday night, about going to a basketball game to watch basketball. According to Lorelai, it's the most ridiculous idea since umbrella hats.

Diana, Max, Diana, and Daniel piled into Max's car. Jess called to tell them that he and Rory would meet them there.

They arrived at Chilton just before the game was to start. Diana looked around the giant gymnasium recognizing not a single face.

"Where should we sit?" she asked Daniel.

"Far, far away from your parents, please."

"Oh, trust me; I was thinking the same thing."

They walked up to the third highest bleacher. Not too high for everyone to see whatever they did, not too low for Lorelai and Max to see whatever they did.

Daniel stared at Diana.

"I'm not going to socialize!" Diana yelled with a smile.

"I know."

"So why are you staring at me?"  
"No reason."

He leaned in to kiss her, as a whistle blew and the game started. Fate must've been in a bad mood, because for the second time, Hannah walked into the gym right as they kissed. She was with her boyfriend, Josh.

As Hannah stared at Daniel and Diana, Josh wondered what she was staring at. He looked up and saw Daniel and Diana kissing.

"Whoa, she's hot", he said softly.

"What?" Hannah yelled in rage.

"Nothing."

"That was something."

"No it wasn't."

"You said she was hot."

"Who?"

"Diana."

"Who?"

"That girl up there", Hannah said, pointing to Diana.

"Well she is!"

"What?"

"She's hot!"

"Josh!"

"What?"

Hannah was fed up. She walked up to the third bleacher from the top and tapped Diana on the shoulder. She was still in the middle of a kiss, so she figured someone had accidentally bumped into her, and didn't look up. Hannah pushed her. This time, Diana turned around with an angry look.

"What?"

"Stay away from my boyfriend!" Hannah screeched, and walked away furiously.

"What was that about?" Daniel asked.

"I don't know."

"You hanging around her boyfriend?"

"I didn't even know she had a boyfriend."

"You hanging around a guy that might be her boyfriend?"

"No, Daniel!"

"You hanging around any guys?"

"No!"

"Promise?"

"Yes!"

Meanwhile, Jess and Rory had just walked into the gym. He put his hand to his eyes, as it was very bright, and searched for Lorelai and Max.

Tristan, who sat on the lowest bleacher nearest to the gym's entrance, noticed Rory, but didn't recognize the guy she was with. Being the instigator that he was, he got up from the bleacher, asking a student to save him seat, and walked over to Rory and Jess, before they could sit down.

"Hello Rory. Hi, sir. The name's Tristan DuGrey and you are?"

_A/N: Before all the Lit fans go crazy and say things like "Stop confusing me! I thought she was with Jess!", she is. I don't usually say anything about what will happen next, but in this case, Rory will be very angry with Tristan for saying anything because she doesn't want her relationship to suffer. Aah I've said too much already. There will be a LOT of drama in chapter 8. _


	8. Through the glass door

_A/N: Like I said before, I'm a Lit fan, so this will always be a Lit, though it may not seem like it sometimes. This chapter has nothing to do with Diana. I'll get to her later. Sorry it took so long. I wanted to fill it with drama, but I wasn't sure how exactly. Hope you like it. _

_By the way, thanks **potostfbeyeluvr**, believe it or not, with your short review, you actually gave me one of the main ideas for this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I own the ideas for the story in this chapter. I believe Daniel and Diana are mentioned once here, so I own them. Other than that, I own nothing. _

Jess looked down at Tristan's outstretched arm.

"I'm Jess Mariano", he said awkwardly.

_'Who the heck is this guy and why do I care anyway?' _he thought.

"Hello headmaster DuGrey.", said Rory, a hint of "I've-got-a-plan-don't-mess-it-up" in her voice. "That is you, isn't it? You fit my sister's description, but you can't always be sure."

Tristan smiled. "That's me."

"Wonderful. Congratulations on organizing such a lovely event and goodbye", said Rory, angrily walking towards the seats Lorelai had promised to save. She stopped suddenly when she noticed Jess wasn't following. She looked back to see him and Tristan talking friendly and happily. Still, she wanted nothing to do with Tristan. She walked back, her mouth forming a fake smile.

"Jess, come on. Mom and Max are waiting."

"Actually, Mr. DuGrey here just put up an interesting offer", Jess said.

"Oh, really?" Rory asked with an angry glance in Tristan's direction.

"Sure. It would be rude of me not to, considering…well, you know", Tristan said. His plan was a bit different from Rory's.

"You mean that my sister goes to this school? Yes, that's very nice of you, but someone's already saving seats for us. Come on Jess."

"Rory!"

"Jess!"

"These are great seats. Right in the front so we can see everything."

"Everything? What everything? It's a Chilton basketball game!"

"Yeah, but it's still a basketball game, and you know me and basketball."

"No."

"Rory. It's my passion, you know that, and I think I should see this up close. Makes for great observation."

Rory sighed. "Remember when we used to make fun of jocks?"

"Mr. DuGrey--", said Jess, walking back to where Tristan was waiting.

"Please, call me Tristan."

Rory looked at him awkwardly.

"Okay, Tristan. We'll take those seats."

"Great, great! Come here."

They followed Tristan to the first row of bleachers, on the side opposite Lorelai and Max. Rory sat hesitantly. _'I've never felt more out of place anywhere in my life'. _

They sat in silence for a while, though the sounds of sneakers scuffing against the gym floor, the continuous bouncing of the basketball, and whistles going off every few minutes covered the awkwardness of the situation, at least for Jess. Rory, on the other hand, sat twiddling her thumbs in anticipation for the end of the game. At one point, she just couldn't take it anymore. Eager to escape the headache that had been caused by her anger at Tristan and fear that he may do something stupid to sabotage her relationship with Jess, Rory got up and headed to the bathroom where she could spend time alone to think.

Walking at a normal pace through the halls of her old high school, Rory thought nothing of the footsteps behind her until she heard the annoyingly familiar voice call out, "Mary!"

"Aren't we a little old for that?" Rory asked, turning around to look at Tristan.

"You'll always be my Mary."

"I'm not your Mary! I'm Jess's Mary. I mean Rory, Jess's Rory. It's Rory! And I'm married, Tristan, so the Virgin Mary thing's obviously not even valid! You're thirty something by now, Tristan; grow up!"

"It's not that obvious."

"Why are you following me?"

"Why'd you kiss me?"

"You, know, I really don't have to go to the bathroom anymore", Rory said. She turned around and started walking quickly in the direction of the gym.

"Maybe I'm not the one who needs to grow up? Dodging my questions? A little immature, Mary. And walking into my office out of nowhere when I haven't seen you in about 19 years? Very immature. Maybe you were right in one sense, though. You're not the Mary you used to be, Miss Magdalene."

Almost the gym, Rory turned around rapidly, unable to ignore Tristan anymore. "Tristan, what do you want from me?"

"Why the hell are you yelling at ME?"

"I don't know!"

"What?"

"I don't know why I kissed you!"

"That's usually something you know."

"Well I don't!"

"Rory", Tristan said, lowering his voice significantly. He put his hand on her shoulder like someone would if they were comforting someone.

"I don't!"

"I understand."

"No, you don't."

"I don't."  
"I don't even understand! Just let it go."

"Are you sure that's how you want it to leave it?" Tristan's hand slid down to Rory's waist now. He moved closer, and his voice softened with every word.

"Yes", Rory replied firmly.

"Because I don't." His voice was now a whisper. They gazed at each other the way Rory had looked at Jess last night. Rory blinked, but Tristan wasn't going to let this golden moment go by. He slowly leaned in, kissing her on the cheek, and moving to her lips. Rory couldn't believe Tristan was doing this. She'd told him to let it go! But then again, that was Tristan. He hadn't changed. He was as sly and tricky as he'd been all those years ago. Rory let her mind drift.

_'Oh, coming to greet me?'_

_'Hello, Tristan." _

_'So where's my birthday kiss?'_

_'It's my birthday."_

_'So I'll give you a birthday kiss.' _

_'What is wrong with you?'_

Was she going to pass up this chance too? Yes! Of course! She refused to let Tristan be "the other man". Her experience as the "other woman" with Dean wasn't a rewarding one. Rory tried to back away, but Tristan had a grasp on her back. The glass door that led to the gym opened suddenly. Rory couldn't look up, as Tristan was still holding her tightly. Tristan looked up though, and a few seconds later, Rory was free of Tristan's grasp. Tristan was on the floor. Jess towered above him. Tristan's nose was bleeding. His face was scratched horribly. The door opened again. Rory turned her head to see Lorelai standing in the entrance.

"Mom"

"You're married."

"So?"

"Right, you haven't heard about the rules."

"The rules?"

"When you're married and you have the urge the kiss another guy for the second time, I should add, do it in a room with four walls and a solid wood door. See that door? Glass. Guess what! Glass is transparent, Hon."

"Mom, I didn't--"

"I saw it, Rory! I saw it, Jess saw it. Max, Diana, Daniel, and all of Diana's teachers who decide her grades and can make or break the rest of her life saw you kiss the headmaster of Chilton."

Rory was horrified. It really had looked like she was kissing him, not the other way around. The tight embrace, the mock passion. It all looked real. No one would know she'd tried to get out of it. No one would know the truth.

"Imagine how that makes Diana look! Then imagine how this looks to the people who actually know you! I'm disappointed, Rory. I'm angry. I'm angry and disappointed. I've never been angry and disappointed at one time."

"I didn't kiss him!"

Lorelai shook her head, and walked away to find a nurse or someone to help Tristan. Jess got up from the floor, shook his head almost exactly like Lorelai, and walked back into the gym.


	9. The glass door strikes again

_A/N: Apparently, most of the people who read this want a Trory. I've been thinking and I've figured out how to make it a Trory or a Lit without altering the fantastic storyline I've got planned too much. Now all I have to do is figure out which way it should go. Review and let me know!_

_There's way less drama in this chapter than in the last. It's pretty much a build-up for the next chapter, so it's not that great. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls or its characters. In this chapter, I do own Diana, Daniel, Hannah, and Josh._

Rory stood helplessly for a moment, thinking.

_'If Tristan never came back, this wouldn't have happened! Well, maybe the kiss contributed just a bit, but I wouldn't have kissed him if he hadn't come back! Now Jess is going to hate me. Jess is going to hate me and I didn't do anything. Okay, well I did, but he thinks I did something else that I didn't do, so he shouldn't be mad. Well, he should, but he wouldn't be if Tristan wasn't such a jerk! What about Mom? She was so upset with me. Also Tristan's fault. I hate that guy! I hate him!'_

She cut herself short, and turned around, starting to follow Jess. She walked into the gym through that horrible glass door that had just possibly changed her life. Jess was nowhere in sight. Rory couldn't even find Diana or Daniel. Finally, Max's face appeared where Rory had sworn he'd been sitting before.

"Hey, Max."

"Rory!" Max exclaimed, more tense than excited. "I, uh…this is some game."

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. They never had this kind of thing when I went to Chilton."

"Yeah, this was the new headmaster's idea."

"Max--"

"This small talk thing was never really my specialty."

"I understand."

"It's not much easier when I'm not supposed to be talking to you."

"What?"

"Well, I don't know. Lorelai saw what happened, and she was pretty upset. I guess I'm supposed to be on her side."

"This is side thing? I just…okay, I'll deal with this later. Have you seen Jess?"

"Everyone saw Jess."

"Everyone?"

"Particularly the basketball players and the referees."

Rory looked at him blankly.

"He walked through the court while the game was going on. He's really upset, Rory. You have to talk to him."

"Okay. Um, thanks, Max."

Max smiled awkwardly as Rory walked toward the gym's back door that led to the parking lot.

A few bleachers up, Josh sat silently next to Hannah, who wasn't too pleased with him. Even so, Josh couldn't help turning toward Diana and Daniel every few minutes. It wasn't until Diana got up to go to the bathroom, out of Josh's line of vision, forcing him to stand up to stare at her, that Hannah noticed.

"What are you doing?" she yelled.

"I'm watching a stupid basketball game."

"No you're not."

"I'm sorry, I thought the sport with the round orange ball was basketball. I must be mixing it up with hockey."

"You standing with your back turned to the game."

"So?"

"So you're not watching the game, but you are watching something. What are you watching? Who are you watching?"

"Her."

"Who?"

"That girl."

"Oh my God!"

"Jealous, Hannah?"

"You're that freaking stupid? You'd sit there and actually admit to my face and tell me you're staring at another girl, who happens to be someone I despise?"

"No."

"Idiot."

"She's so much prettier than you. More normal, too."

"Fine, Josh. We're over!"

"I think that's the point I was trying to make."

"I'm leaving."

Josh didn't hear her, too busy making his way down from the bleachers into the school. He opened the glass door. "Hey!"

Diana turned around. "Who are you?"

"Josh Deets."

"You're Hannah's boyfriend, aren't you?"

"Nope."

"No, I swear I've seen you with Hannah before. Today, actually. A few minutes ago, even."

"Might want to get your vision checked out. So, where are you going?"

"Bathroom."

"Cool."

"It is?"

"Bathrooms are great places to make out, especially the unisex ones. That's down by the computer lab. Let's go."

"Get away from me!" Diana screamed.

"Calm down."

"Shut up!" She ran through the rest of the hallway, and out of the main entrance into the parking lot.

Suddenly a realization dawned on her. She'd been speaking to Josh in front of the glass door. The same glass door that had doomed Rory was striking again. Daniel was incredibly possessive. He'd surely seen her talking to Josh.

_'Daniel gets jealous when I'm talking to Luke at the diner. This is Josh, the same guy he was asking about before. How the heck am I going to explain this?' _

Frantically searching for Max's car, Diana ran faster than ever, sure to look behind her shoulder in case Josh was following her. Instead of Josh, she saw Rory.

"Diana? What are you doing out here? Have you seen Jess?" Rory asked, talking even faster than her normal pace.

"No." Diana replied. She was crying now.

"Di? Why are you crying? What happened?" Rory was the only person who called Diana Di. The only person Diana would allow to call her Di.

"The glass door."

"What glass door? The one people were looking through when Tristan kissed me? Di, did you see Tristan kiss me? I swear I didn't kiss him back."

Diana shook her head.  
"Then what?'  
"Daniel's going to freak out. There was a guy, and he asked me to make out with him, and Daniel doesn't even know that part. Just me talking to another guy is going to freak him out. Wait, did you say Tristan kissed you?"

"No."

"Rory!"

"Yeah."

"Wow, that's way bigger than my thing. People saw it?"

"Mom saw it. Jess saw it. A referee probably saw it and stopped the game while it was happening so everyone could stare. Everyone knows and Jess hates me."

"Jess loves you, Rory. He could never hate you."

"That's the line you hear at the end of a romantic movie or something. I don't think it's going to happen this time."

"But he knows you, and he knows you'd never kiss another guy."

_'This is one of those moments in a movie where there's a fiery ball of guilt inside, but the other person doesn't know it exists and it's about blow up, but you can't show it. I can't show it. Diana can't know. No one can know. It's over.'_

"Yeah."

A loud noise that sounded like screeching tires filled the Chilton parking lot. Rory and Diana turned around.

"Isn't that your car?"

"Look who's driving."

"Why would he leave without you?"

"Why wouldn't he? He'd even angrier than I thought."

"You can come home with us."

"No. Mom's going to be in that car."

"So?"

"She's not thrilled with me right now."

"Ah."

"I'll figure something out. Now you go figure something out, Di."

"Huh?"

"Daniel."

"Right, right."  
"And it'll be fine."

"Right back at you."

They suddenly embraced each other in a hug. It was one of those weird happy endings, except this wasn't over. Far from over. They smiled and walked in opposite directions. Diana headed back to the gym bracing herself for the worst, but Rory wasn't sure where she was headed. She had some thinking to do, but first, she needed a ride home.

Walking through the halls of Chilton, exploring her options, she heard an extremely familiar voice coming from Max's classroom.

"Excuse me?" Lorelai's voice echoed through the school.

"I love Rory" another voice said, also echoing.

"Yeah, I heard you. I just don't believe you! Tristan, you're in charge of this school! I'm not sure if you remember the gossip that went around when someone-Paris-saw Max--Mr. Medina and I kissing."

"Nope."

"Nope what?"

"I don't remember."

Rory rounded the corner and walked into the classroom.

Tristan looked up. "Rory."

"What are you doing in here?" Rory asked angrily.

"I don't know. I'm leaving." Tristan hopped off the desk he'd been sitting on and walked past Rory out of the room, leaving Lorelai and Rory standing opposite each other, with only horrible things to talk about.

Rory spoke first. "Yeah, I'm leaving too."

"Wait" Lorelai said. Rory stopped at the doorway and turned around. "I know you didn't kiss Tristan."

"He told you?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sorry I doubted you Rory."

"Thanks."

"Well, you did kiss him once! That's all it takes."

"All it takes for what?"

"For you to be cheating on Jess!"

"I'm not cheating on Jess!"

"Step back and look at this situation, Hon."

"Oh my God, I'm cheating on Jess!"

"Geez, calm down."

"But I cheated on Jess!"

"I heard. But it's not like cheat cheating. It's um, cheap cheating."

"Mom!"

"I thought that was pretty creative."

"I don't know why I kissed him, though. I really don't. I keep wondering, but I really don't have an answer for that. I don't like him. I never liked Tristan. There may have been about an hour that I could even stand Tristan."

"It's okay!"

"No! It's not! It's really, really not! Something's wrong with me. Something's not right!"

Rory sat down next to Lorelai on one of the students' desks, rested her head on her mother's shoulder, and cried softly.

_A/N: I know, I know. It wasn't a very exciting chapter, but I swear, I had to get this out of the way before I could get to the good stuff next chapter. Next chapter I'll see what I can do to tie a connection between Diana's life and Rory's other than Tristan…there will be a LOT of drama, I promise! _


	10. Author's note

I wrote the next 11 chapters and then my computer broke! It wasn't until now that I could get on a comp to let you know. I'm soo sorry! If I manage to find the original handwritten copies so I can type them again, I'll definitely update. If not, I may just rewrite from memory because I really like this story. For now, I've got a new one, but I haven't forgotten about this. Again, SORRY!


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